The Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion, 2nd Edition

Chapter 24Community: Once upon a Time in a Place Called Home

David and Carole Schwinn

Here is a vision of hope and optimism written by two people who consistently see the promise in the world around them and have a deep faith that we keep moving toward a more caring and forgiving universe.

This mostly true story of the CommUnity Transformation Project in Jackson, Michigan, is offered as a lesson in the redesign of very large-scale social systems. The story represents the work of a small, diverse team of people who committed to “being themselves what they wished to bring forth in their community,” and engaging increasing numbers of citizens in a process of:

The Jackson CommUnity Transformation Project was a learning partnership of Jackson Community College, the Jackson Area Quality Initiative, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Members of the “consulting” team included Delvin LaMont Williams, Sue Justian, Brian Cook, David and Carole Schwinn, Bradley Smith, Mary Beers, Kathleen Conley, and William Morrison. The primary external consultant to the project was Jamshid Gharajedaghi, INTERACT: The Institute for Interactive Management. The project engaged over 5,000 citizens and 200 organizations in its duration (June 1995–July 1999).

• Creating shared understanding of their community’s current condition
• Designing their community’s desired future
• Taking action to realize the design
• Sustaining a process of citizen participation in community development

The story is offered as an opportunity ...